


An Angel's Message

by GabesBeanie



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Gabriel's Family, Gen, Inspired by 'Bastet', Past Relationships, R76 if you squint, it's kinda implied so have fun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-10
Updated: 2019-01-10
Packaged: 2019-10-07 14:51:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17367956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GabesBeanie/pseuds/GabesBeanie
Summary: Gabriel receives a letter from someone he's never met.





	An Angel's Message

Gabriel stared down at the letter in his hands, turning it over again to see the small gold seal decorating the back, embossed with two interlocked rings.

The front of the envelope had been addressed to “Commander Gabriel Reyes” with a small stamp indicating that it had been cleared for hazardous materials. Judging by the post markings, a few weeks had passed by the time it made it to his hands.

Gabriel found himself perplexed as he turned it over again, there was no return address and he couldn’t think of anyone he knew outside of Overwatch he was close to, especially enough to warrant a letter. Who even used snail-mail anymore?

“What you got there?” A familiar voice asked from behind him. Jack sat down heavily in the chair next to him, rocking the table slightly and nearly upending Gabriel’s mug of dark-as-sin coffee. “Not every day you get mail.”

“I’ll say,” Gabriel scoffed, twirling the crème parchment between his fingers. “I wonder what it could be…” He bit back a smile when he felt Jack punch him in the shoulder.

“Gabe, the suspense is killing me. Come on, open it already!”

Gabriel opened it.

Inside was a card, folded in half, with a picture of a young couple smiling up at him. Some unnamed feeling stirred in Gabriel’s chest as he read the words beneath those smiles: _You’re Invited!_

“A wedding invitation?” Gabriel frowned.

“Aw, anyone I know?” Jack asked with a smile. Gabriel spared him an unimpressed look, knowing very well that nearly all of their mutual acquaintances were members of Overwatch or uppity government officials he couldn’t care less about.

“I’m not even sure _I_ know them,” he shrugged, staring at the couple. Jack glanced over at them with a considering hum.

Gabriel propped his elbows on the table top and flipped the card open to read. “You have been cordially invited to the wedding of Tomás Rivera and Angelita….”

_Reyes._

“What? Who?” Jack asked, peering over to read the card himself. Gabriel could feel him startle in his seat. “Gabe?”

Gabriel struggled to speak. He swallowed, took a deep breath in through his nose. Held it. Released.

“I…”

He couldn’t find the words, but he was lucky; Jack found them for him.

“You have… a daughter?”

Gabriel let out a strained sort of laugh, a hand coming up to cover his mouth as he turned the card back over, eyes roaming once again over the beaming couple.

“The age is right,” he said softly, trying to be objective about the whole thing. He failed miserably. “Holy shit.”

“Gabe? Hey, you okay?” Jack put a hand on his shoulder, subtly scooting his chair closer. He glanced at the card. He hadn’t known that Gabe had a family, he rarely spoke of his life before they met in the SEP. Jack took a moment to reevaluate what he knew about his friend based on this knew information. He forced a smile, “I didn’t know you had a family back home. When were you gonna introduce me to the missus?”

Gabriel huffed a laugh, sounding both incredulous and strained. “There’s no one ‘back home’, Jack. I’m not married. Never was.”

Jack barely stopped himself from asking another question, waiting for his friend to keep talking if he wanted to.

Gabriel toyed with the edge of the card, the knot in his chest tight and confusing. He could feel Jack’s grip on his shoulder, his fingers twitching with unasked questions. He sighed.

“Back before I joined SEP, I was in a relationship,” Gabriel started. “Nothing too serious, at least on my end. I was already in the service a couple years at that point and we’d been together for most of it.”

He felt an old sting behind his eyes, offering up a rueful smile in Jack’s direction. “She and I didn’t end on good terms.” Gabriel tapped the edge of the card against the table. “Now I think I know the reason why.”

“You didn’t know she was pregnant…” Jack concluded, finally sitting back into his chair. He let his hand fall from his friend’s shoulder, allowing him to also sink deeper into his seat.

“She told me when I signed up for SEP that she wasn’t going to wait at home for me to _maybe_ come back. That if we wanted to start a family, I should be there as a part of it. I told her if that was how she felt, then she shouldn’t wait up.” Gabriel grimaced at the memory. “It wasn’t the answer she wanted.”

“Christ…” Jack swore softly.

“I’m not proud of how I handled it, but I’m glad I went into the Crisis with no attachments. I wouldn’t have been able to take the risks I have if I was worried about someone back home waiting for me.”

“Yeah…” Jack nodded, feeling an old ache in his chest from his own past. “I can understand that.”

“But holy shit,” Gabriel suddenly huffed out, eyes moving back to stare at the photo once more. “A kid. I have a kid.”

Jack looked back over at the image, the young woman had long dark hair, dark skin, and warm eyes. Her smile lit up her whole face as it pressed against her fiancé’s cheek. She looked radiant.

She looked like Gabriel.

“Dios…” Gabriel muttered.

They sat in silence for a moment, both churning over their own thoughts. Jack watched Gabriel as he looked over the photo, a calloused finger gently tracing the thick waves of his daughter’s hair. After several minutes, Gabriel took a deep breath, letting it all woosh out in one great sigh.

Tension leaked out of his shoulders and he was finally able to offer a small smile beneath his mustache. “Angelita, huh? Getting married...” He laughed, incredulous and a little delighted. “That punk better treat her right.”

Jack let out a chuckle of his own, low and gravely, as he felt himself finally relax again. He was making jokes, that was a good sign. Jack cleared his throat to get Gabriel’s attention.

“You gonna show up?” He asked softly.

Gabriel shrugged. The wedding date was set for three months from then. “Maybe. Not sure how welcome I’d be.”

“She sent you the invitation,” Jack jibed lightly. “Pretty sure that means she wants you there.”

“What? Now you’re talking horse shit, Jackie,” Gabriel snickered, catching Jack’s chest with an elbow.

Jack laughed, relieved to see that his friend was feeling better about the whole thing. He still had a lot to think about, but three months was plenty of time to consider. And Jack would always be there to listen if he needed to talk.

“Well hey, if you decide to show up, I’ll be your plus one.” Jack smiled, rising up to refresh his coffee.

Gabriel laughed, smiling broadly back at him as he left, “I might just hold you to that.”

 

=x END x=

**Author's Note:**

> SO this spawned 'cause i started thinking about theories regarding the line in the Bastet short story: "at least you and Gabe managed to have families."
> 
> It made me wonder if Gabe had a similar situation where he left his relationships behind, but I also wanted to figure how he could have a daughter (presumed from the Reflections comic) that he would be distant from but still protective of. I personally think he wouldn't want attachments thru SEP, and definitely not be stable/feel safe enough to have one while running Blackwatch. Thus, he "managed" to have a family (at least thru Jack's eyes), but he was able to remain mostly unattached.
> 
> And thus, this idea was born.
> 
> And unfortunately, spoiler, Gabe doesn't make it to the wedding from Switzerland. :'(
> 
> SIDENOTE: Angelita (ahn-hel-eeta) means "little angel" in Spanish, which is a play on Gabriel's name :3
> 
> Links --> [[Carrd]](https://gabesbeanie.carrd.co/) | [[Twitter]](https://twitter.com/GabesBeaniee)
> 
> //what are titles orz anyway love ya smooches mwah


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